The Original World War II Combat Epic

Rating: Null/10 (8 December 2001)

"The Longest Day" is an outstanding epic which could be best described as the "Gone With the Wind" of war films. An amazing production which had five directors and five screenwriters, it is an intense film which lasts three hours and tells the story of the D-Day invasion from five different attack angles. John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton and Robert Mitchum are all super as the primary characters. However, the supporting cast has a diverse range of actors such as Sean Connery, Red Buttons, Sal Mineo, Robert Wagner, Stuart Whitman, George Segal, Robert Ryan, Roddy McDowall and Jeffrey Hunter. This was the definitive World War II film before 1998 when it was dethroned by both "The Thin Red Line" and "Saving Private Ryan", but make no mistake of it "The Longest Day" is still outstanding in every way imaginable and it continues to stand up well as the years go by. 5 stars out of 5.